Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its stake in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 12.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,352 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 761 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Natera were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Natera by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,393,827 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,752,611,000 after purchasing an additional 77,357 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Natera by 134.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,742,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,067,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871,862 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its position in shares of Natera by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 1,222,578 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $193,534,000 after purchasing an additional 82,488 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 945,511 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $149,674,000 after purchasing an additional 169,148 shares during the period. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natera by 6.2% in the first quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 943,094 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,363,000 after purchasing an additional 55,383 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NTRA shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Natera from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Natera from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Natera from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 5,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.88, for a total value of $771,634.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 163,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,738,237.84. This represents a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $418,383.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 65,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,990,082. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 60,239 shares of company stock valued at $8,986,542. 5.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Natera Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRA opened at $159.81 on Wednesday. Natera, Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.57 and a 1-year high of $183.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $155.52 and a 200-day moving average of $154.81. The company has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.67 and a beta of 1.76.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical research company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.14). Natera had a negative return on equity of 22.22% and a negative net margin of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $546.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.30) EPS. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.